NEW DELHI — The highly anticipated Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 player auction is slated for December 19 in Dubai. For the first time, the proceedings will take place outside India.
Up to 70 vacant roster spots across 10 franchises will be filled from a pool of 333 cricketers.
As IPL envelops India and global cricket fans alike with its high-stakes drama each summer, the auction marks the first stepping stone in building up excitement for 2024.
When and where is the IPL 2024 Auction?
The IPL 2024 player auction takes place on December 19 in Dubai, UAE. The event is scheduled to start at 3:30 pm IST.
Many might be wondering why this IPL event will be held outside India because it has been 2 seasons ago when the tournament itself had to take place in the UAE due to the pandemic restrictions.
Well, this year, the only reason why they had to do the auction overseas is because it’s the wedding season in India at the moment. According to an IPL official, hotel availability can be an issue during this time of the year so they decided to host the auction in Dubai.
Last year, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) also planned to do the same thing. It was first thought that the auction for the previous IPL season was going to be held in Istanbul but the BCCI just didn’t push through. The auction is crucial for cricket punters to start planning the wagers on their favorite IPL betting app. Especially, when the BCCI already announces the official schedule and fixtures.
This might be a trend in the future. There’s a chance that the upcoming IPL auctions will be held outside India moving forward. That’s still something we have to wait and see.
Auction format and rules for the IPL
The IPL auction utilises a specialised accelerated process to efficiently filter through 333 players for 70 vacancies across 10 teams.
Franchises take turns making player bids during rounds organized by valued brackets. Once the highest reserve price batch concludes, the remaining players are cycled through again at lower thresholds.
This allows teams to take calculated risks on perceived hidden gems that went unsold earlier without overspending. Bidding wars still frequently occur driving up prices for coveted athletes.
Last year, because of a bidding war, Punjab Kings had to sign Sam Curran for INR 18.50 crore. That makes him the most expensive IPL player in history.
Pre-auction trades also already took place. This gave teams like Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad added funds to spend during the event by trading existing players.
Some of the notable completed trades include Romario Shepherd being traded by Lucknow Super Giants to Mumbai Indians. Meanwhile, Lucknow Super Giants was able to get Devdutt Padikkal from Rajasthan Royals.
Players up for grabs
In total, there are 333 cricketers from 14 countries entering the IPL 2024 auction pool. The vast majority at 214 are Indian players while 119 come from overseas. The auction list also includes two players from associate member nations.
In terms of experience breakdown, 116 capped and 215 uncapped players will be up for grabs. 23 elite players carry the highest 2 crore reserve price tag.
Team’s budget
Gujarat Titans entered the auction with the biggest budget at Rs 38.15 crore. They are followed closely by Sunrisers Hyderabad (Rs 37.85 crore) and Punjab Kings (Rs 32.2 crore). All squads must spend at least 75% of their purse during the auction.
On the other end, Chennai Super Kings have the smallest auction budget at Rs 20.45 crore. However, they also have the fewest player slots to fill as they only have four.
Spots each squad have
Kolkata Knight Riders have the most vacancies to fill at 12 players. Punjab Kings and Lucknow Super Giants aren’t far behind with 11 and 10 slots available respectively. Again, Chennai Super Kings have the least openings with four.
All 10 franchises combined have 70 positions up for grabs to reach max squad capacity by the end of this year’s auction.
There are still quite a lot of spots to be filled during the auction. This is something many fans truly look forward to as the result of the auction can give them a glimpse of how their favorite teams will perform in the next season.
Most coveted players
The highest echelon of marquee names carry a 2 crore reserve valuation. Most of these proven superstars will likely attract intense bidding wars between purse-rich teams.
This elite bracket includes English standouts like Ben Stokes and Sam Curran, along with Australians Mitchell Starc and Cameron Green. India’s Shreyas Iyer and Harshal Patel are also hot names this year.
With the grandest T20 league extending its scale, the 2024 IPL auction presents a pivotal opportunity for franchises to plug holes and build out more balanced squads. It will be interesting to see how the teams will spend their budgets this year and if a bidding war will once again happen for stars like Sam Curran.